A hypercentric or pericentric lens is one in which a converging view of an object is achieved. This is as opposed to the more conventional diverging view lens common in most optical systems (including human vision), or for parallel (non-diverging, non-converging) view telecentric lenses.
Furthermore, at least two other combined properties distinguish a hypercentric lens from other types. The first property is that the entrance pupil (which may be defined as the image of the physical aperture stop as “seen” from the front of the lens) is located in front of the physical lens. The second is that such a lens may observe surfaces that are parallel to the optical axis. FIG. 1 illustrates this property. FIG. 1A shows the view of a converging view lens that is not hypercentric (such as a microscope objective), while FIG. 1B shows the essential hypercentric property.